


One and the Same

by PastelLunarPrince



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, It Made Sense In My Head, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 11:24:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7169108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelLunarPrince/pseuds/PastelLunarPrince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They knew. They knew the entire time - nearly, anyway.</p>
<p>One-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One and the Same

They've known. They've known the entire time they've worked together - nearly, anyway.

Marinette couldn't help but giggle at herself as she laid on the pink blanket, closing her eyes against the spring sun and letting her free hand trace tiny trails over the flowers and grass.

"M'Lady?"

Keeping her eyes closed, Marinette didn't need to turn to see that her boyfriend's bright green eyes were staring at her.

"Hmm?"

Adrien couldn't help but smile at how peaceful she looked lying next to him. The sun reflected off of her blue-black hair (he had managed to convince her to let it down once they were on their own - "Just for me, pretty please, Princess?"), and he couldn't help but crack a small grin in response to the almost teasing way she respond to his question.

"You laughed."

"I was just thinking, Kitty." Marinette responded, cracking one eye open to look at Adrien. Yep, there he was with those gorgeous eyes, staring at her as if she were the only thing in the world.

"When did you figure it out?"

Marinette groaned as Adrien sat up, meaning he unlaced their hands as he stretched. She followed suit, looking over at him briefly before letting her head come to rest on his shoulder. She closed her eyes once more; the sun had decided to be awfully bright.

"We've been dating for nearly a month, and you're just now asking?" Marinette covered her mouth just slightly as she laughed. "When did _you_ figure it out, hmm?"

-

Honestly, Marinette had no idea why she had suddenly decided to talk to Adrien. Maybe it was because of a nagging sensation at the back of her head screaming that he was Chat Noir. When they had both arrived late that morning, something in her brain fired and she almost called out to him - using the wrong name.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not a dim girl; she was smart, when she wanted to be. Yes, she got easily distracted - _did Adrien smell like cheese more than normal this morning? Is smelling like cheese a normal thing?_ \- and her grades suffered sometimes - _do hair products smell like cheese? Maybe I'll bring him some cheese bread, wait Marinette, focus… did he just scratch like he had fleas?_ \- but she was an intelligent human being, and a superhero on top of it all. She could put two and two together, and sometimes, sometimes it would make four.

So when Alya held up her phone to her friend's face with a picture of Adrien on the screen, Chat Noir's outfit and some cat ears drawn over him, of course Marinette said it could never happen. Alya was her best friend, and if she were being honest, she would tell Alya one of these days - just maybe when she wasn't on the hunt for Ladybug's identity. Deep down, she knew Alya would never reveal her, but the girl could be scary sometimes.

What had surprised Marinette, in any case, was that sometimes talking to Adrien was still hard, even though she knew - oh god did she know - that he was Chat. Her goofy partner, her other best friend. She was still crushing, hard, but she soon found that her crush was becoming more and more of the person Adrien and Chat could be - a comfortable version of himself. Someone who still was a bit reserved, but let his wit show through; even though she would never admit out loud, she sometimes wished Adrien would drop a pun here and there (boy, did she regret having that wish granted, in retrospect).

It was stranger, still, for Alya and Nino. One day, their best friends still aren't saying more than a couple sentences to each other, and the next, they're having full conversations. It was as if a switch had been flipped and something between them clicked.

"Hey, Adrien."

Adrien jumped, green eyes wide as he turned away from his locker to face Marinette. "Oh. H-hi Marinette!"

Marinette raised an eyebrow, a half-smirk playing on her lips. She knew she had just interrupted a Kwami conversation.

"What's up?"

"I was going to go ahead and ask you if-"

A yelling match from outside broke off her invitation to join her, Alya, and Nino for lunch at the bakery. Immediately, her Ladybug instincts kicked in and she ran to a nearby window to watch the argument go down. It was a teacher and student, but it was also a parent and child. She hoped it was nothing serious enough for an akuma, but she knew better than to get her hopes up.

Sure enough, not five minutes later, Ladybug was swinging through the air toward an akumatized student throwing some sort of science-themed projectile.

"Race you there!"

Ladybug stifled a giggle as she rolled her eyes at her partner as he vaulted past her on his staff. She let him win; what was the harm, really?

Ten minutes, a purification, and a Miraculous Cure later, the student was sent back on her way to class and to her mother. Neither a Cataclysm nor a Lucky Charm was needed.

"Looks like we have some extra time, LB," Chat wriggled his eyebrows, grinning.

Ladybug shook her head, hands on her hips. "I don't know about you, but I have a lunch break to get to. My parents are expecting me and my friends." She winked and smiled before attaching her yo-yo to a nearby chimney and swinging off.

Once she was out of his line of sight, Chat's eyes widened. "Crap. Lunch!"

Marinette found Adrien back at his locker, and made her way back to him. "So, as I was saying before everyone ran and hid," she had to stifle yet another laugh at his wide eyes; he really, really needed to stop talking to his Kwami in the locker. "I wanted to see if you would join us - me, Alya, and Nino - for lunch at my parents' bakery?" She tilted her head to the side, a nervous smile on her lips.

Taken aback for a moment, Adrien nodded. "I'd love to. Though," he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not too sure Nathalie would let me."

Marinette's smile faltered slightly. Right. Adrien had to have permission to do anything. She sighed, trying to think of a way to get him out of having to go home. "Just bail."

Adrien let out a rather Chat-like laugh. "Mari, what has gotten into you today?" He shook his head and shrugged. "Still.."

"My parents make the best cheese bread in all of Paris."

Something clicked, and Adrien nodded. _At least Plagg would be happy, and actual food sounds delicious._

-

"So not even a specific time? You just knew?" Adrien sighed, exasperated.

"I think I knew for sure when we had to go up against Nino, or the Bubbler," Marinette shrugged. "I fought myself over it for the longest time, but you seem happiest when you can be yourself, like around me - or around Nino and Alya."

"Well, we have to be more careful around Alya," Adrien quirked a brow. "Can't have too many puns, or it would be _cat_ astrophic."

Marinette lightly slapped his upper arm, rolling her eyes. "So, when did you figure it out? Because you obviously were not surprised when we decided to actually reveal ourselves."

Adrien shrugged, laying his head on top of his girlfriend's head.

-

"She's asking me to protect her, Plagg. Ladybug - the same girl that yells at me for protecting her - is asking me to protect her." Adrien collapsed onto his bed.

"If you're so sure it's her, then say something already." Plagg tossed a triangle of Camembert into his mouth. "Yeesh."

"That's not the point; it's a trust thing. She doesn't want me to know, so for now - I don't." The teenager sighed. He stared blankly at the ceiling. "And she's going on a date with this guy. I mean, don't get me wrong, Nath's a cool kid, but-"

"You humans and your weird priorities." Plagg muttered, flying off to find more cheese.

Adrien Agreste was a smart kid; no one could deny that he had prowess in many areas of study. But even he was confused when his thoughts yelled LADYBUG at him when he watched Marinette standing up for and shielding other students from bullies - surprisingly not Chloe for once. The confusion had only lasted a moment before he allowed the pieces to slip into place and make perfect sense.

Didn't mean he liked letting Marinette put herself in danger, transformed or not.

"Chat Noir, put your staff here and extend it."

Yup. That was Ladybug alright.

"As you wish." _My Lady._

Marinette chuckled to herself as Chat ran off to keep Evillustrator busy. She shook her head, wasting no time in transforming.

-

"Seriously? That was six months ago!" Marinette laughed, pushing away from Adrien playfully.

"And the Bubbler was two months before that!" He stuck his tongue out, grinning. "And you have no room to talk beclaws you still waited five months before giving in to my reveal request." He grabbed her hand and lightly kissed the back of her hand.

Marinette rolled her eyes, shook her head, and poked his nose. "I wasn't ready before then, Kitty Cat." She stood up and stretched, looking toward the slowly setting sun. "We should probably get back before the Gorilla finds our super secret hiding place." She bent down and kissed the tip of his nose before her offering her hand to him.

-

3.

2.

1.

The two stood there in silence, looking at their partner in their civilian form. They cracked simultaneous grins, their eyes never breaking contact as they spoke at the same time.

"You knew."

Of course they knew. They knew the whole time.

**Author's Note:**

> My first foray into the Miraculous Ladybug fic scene. I hope it was alright. Maybe I'll get better at writing these two, who knows. I kind of like the idea of them knowing, but not really knowing the other knew. Kind of like a trust thing. It made sense in my head.
> 
> Let me know whatcha think.
> 
> =^.^=


End file.
